Collapsible pew seat



COLLAPSIBLE PEW SEAT Filed Dec. 27, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOK JoSEPH I Nos J. J. NOE 2,177,263

' COLLAPSIBLE PEW SEAT Oct. 24, 1939.

Filed. Dec. 27, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 IN VENTOR. JOSEPH NOE M WWATTORNEYQ Oct. 24, 1939.v J NOE 2,177,263

COLLAPSIBLE PEW SE AT Filed D60. 2'7, 1937 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. do550% No A:

A ORNEYD Patented Oct. 24, 1939 UNITED STATES yATENT OFFECE 6 Claims.

This invention relates generally to pew seats, and has particularreference to pew seats that may be collapsed when not in use.

While my invention has been described in its application to collapsiblepew seats, it is to be understood that it is not necessarily restrictedto such application.

It is frequently found at religious gatherings in churches that theaccommodations for the worshippers, consisting of the standard pew equipment, are inadequate. To remedy this condition it has been customary tosecure additional accommodations by placing chairs in the aisles. Thisprocedure has the disadvantage, however, that at the close of themeeting these chairs, even if they are of the collapsible type, formobstructions to the free movement of the congregation through theaisles.

It is among the general objects of my invention to secure additionalaccommodations in places of assembly, such churches, by providingauxiliary seats that may be collapsed into compact relation withpermanent articles of furniture, such as pews, or against the walls orother permanent immovable installations or equipment, when not in use.

It is among the more particular objects of my invention to provide acollapsible seat having a seat portion and a kneeling portion.

It is also among the objects of my invention to provide a seat that iscollapsible substantially into a plane and which, after such collapse,may be folded into compact relation to one of the permanent fixtures ofa place of assembly, such as a pew or the wall, itself.

It is further among the objects of my invention to provide a permanentequipment of a place of assembly, such as the pews of a church, withpanels harmonizing with their surroundings, but

'movable outwardly therefrom and carrying other portions movable inrelation to said panels so as to constitute seating accommodations.

I achieve the foregoing objects, and such other objects as mayhereinafter appear or be pointed out, in the manner illustrativelyexemplified in the accompanying drawings, wherein Figure 1 is aperspective view showing my invention applied to church pews;

Figure 2 is a side elevational view showing the collapsible pew seat inits open position, and indicating the movement of the link systemconnecting the parts thereof;

Figure 3 is a front elevational view of the collapsible seat of Figure2;

Figure 4 is a perspective view showing the parts of the seat of Figure 2in their collapsed positions;

Figure 5 is a vertical sectional view, on an enlarged scale, through theend of a pew showing the parts of the seat of Figure 2 in theircollapsed condition; and

Figure 6 is a fragmentary horizontal sectional View, on a greatlyenlarged scale, through the end of a pew, illustrating the hingeconstruction uniting the seat and the pew.

In Figure 1, I have shown the end portions of three pews, and applied tothe end walls of said pews is shown one illustrative embodiment of myinvention. In relation to pews A and B, my collapsible seat is shown inits open position, while the seat carried by pew C is shown in itscollapsed and nested position.

It will be observed that the parts of my collapsible seat are shown asmounted on a panel or upright frame H] of such appearance that it formspart of the decorative scheme of the pew. In other words, when the colapsible seat is in its nested position it is indistinguishable from thepew itself, and in effect forms a part thereof; and to emphasize thisdecorative feature I have indicated an ornamental motif thereon (seeFigure 1, pew C).

While in the particular embodiment of my invention disclosed herein theinvention is applied to a church pew, it is to be understood that it isnot so restricted, and that instead of being ap plied to a church pew itmay be applied to other articles of furniture or it may be applied tothe walls of a church or other room.

For the purpose of accommodating my collapsible seat, the pews are shownas recessed at H, the recess being surrounded by the frame l3 of the pewend and its bottom being constituted by the panel l1. At I5 I haveindicated the pew seats. While this construction has been found to bevery serviceable, it is to be understood that other means may beprovided for nesting the collapsible seat. For example, instead ofhaving a recess in the pew end, the inner surface of the panel I 0 mightbe recessed so that the seat parts fit into the panel which wouldoverlie the end of the pew.

The panel or upright frame I!) is movable about a vertical axis and forthis purpose I have shown a hinge construction comprising brackets l2secured in any suitable or preferred manner to the upper and loweredges, respectively, of the panel l0. Each bracket l2 constitutes onemember of a pivotal structure, the other member [4 of which is in theform of a bracket carried by the side of the pew end frame l3.

A stop 2'! may also be provided for limiting the swinging of the panelin an outward direction; while for locking it in place when the seat iscollapsed, a locking arrangement may be provided, as indicated at 25.

Also carried by the panel ill are shown a pair of brackets l6 and i8provided, respectively, at their upper and lower ends with ears ll, l9,and 2! and 23 for a purpose which will presently appear. Pivo-ted. tothe ears l? and i9 is shown a U-shaped metallic frame 22 on which issupported a seat as.

A pair of braces M and 26 are pivotally carried by the frame 22, whilenear their lower ends they are pivotally united, respectively, to legs28 and 36 one end of each of which is pivoted to one of. the ears 2i and23 of the brackets I6 and !8.

It will be observed that the braces 26 and 26 will serve to support theseat 28 in a substantially horizontal position. Downward pressure on theseat 26 will be transmitted by the braces 24 and 26 to the legs 28 and3b, which are prevented from moving beyond their vertical position bytheir contact with the panel lil.

Also pivotally carried by the legs 2% and 35! is shown a U-shaped metalframe 3 5 which supports a kneeling bench 32 on which a worshipperoccupying the seat to the rear may kneel when required to do so by thereligious ceremonies.

Both the brace 2d and one end of the frame 34 are shown as united by acommon pivot 36 to the leg 28, while a similar common pivot 33 unitesthe other support 26 with the other leg 30 and the other end of theframe I have found this common pivot construction very simple andpractical, but is to be understood that my invention is not necessarilyrestricted to such construction as separate pivots may be provided bywhich the legs 28 and Bil are united, respectively, to the braces 26 and25 and to the frame 34.

Underneath the kneeling bench 32 and shown as pivotally united theretoinany suitable or preferred manner, as by hinges 39, is shown a supportingmember or leg lfi which, preferably, carries rollers 55! at its loweredge to enable it to move readily along the floor. Links 62 and l arepivoted at their ends, respectively, to the legs 28 and 3&3 and to theleg ill.

On reference to Figure 2, the functioning of the system of links andother members just described will become apparent. In this figure,intermediate positions of the parts are shown in dot-and-dash lines.

As the seat 253 is moved upwardly about its pivots, the seat brace 24draws the leg 28 upwardly and this in turn draws after it the link 42,the frame 34 and the leg ill; and as the motion continues these partscollapse until they lie substantially in a single plane, as clearlyappears from Figures 4 and 5.

It is to be noted that I have shown the pivot points uniting the legs 28and 35 with the links 42 and 44 and with the kneeling bench and the leg4!] as arranged at the corners of a co1- lapsible parallelogram, and Ihave found this construction very convenient and practical although itis to be understood that this exact arrangement is not necessary.

In order to minimize the space occupied by the parts when the seat iscollapsed, and to permit their disposition substantially in a singleplane, I

have shown the links 42 and 44 provided with offset portions indicatedby the numeral 45. As a result of this offsetting, it will be seen, onviewing Figure 4, that the seat barces 24 and 26 which are shown ofangled cross-section fit over and against the outer sides of the frame22, the latter being shown of T cross-section; and also over the upperears IT and i9 of the brackets l6 and [8. The legs 28 and 30 will lieagainst the outside of the frame 22, While the body of the links 42 and44 will lie outside of the legs 28 and 30. The leg ii! overlies thekneeling bench 32 which, in turn, overlies the frame I 0. The seat 20 isalso shown overlying the panel ill with the back rest 48 of flexiblematerial, such as fabric, sandwiched between it and the panel iii. Theback rest 48, which appears in its extended position of use in Figurel,is secured at its ends, respectively, to the upper endof the panel inand to the inner portions of the legs of the frame 22.

My invention has been described in one of its applications to the end ofa pew. However, it is obviously readily adapted for application to otherarticles of furniture or to a wall, in which case the frame l 6 would behinged to the wall and the parts, when the seat is collapsed, would beaccommodated either in a recess in the wall or in a recess in the panel10, itself.

In general, it will be understood that changesin the details, hereindescribed and illustrated for the purpose of explaining the nature of myinvention, may be made by those skilled in the art without departingfrom the spirit and scope of the invention as expressed in the appendedclaims. It is, therefore, intended that these details be interpreted asillustrative and not in a limiting sense.

Having thus described my invention, and illustrated its use, what Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. The combination with a church pew, a frame forming part of the outerend of said pew and movable about a substantially vertical axis, a seatcarried by said frame and collapsible into a position fiat against saidframe or into an operative position in which it stands outwardly fromsaid frame, a kneeling bench also carried by said member and collapsiblethereagainst, and a recess provided in said pew within which said seatand said kneeling bench may be accommodated when in their collapsedposition.

2. An auxiliary seating installation for churches, comprising a seriesof collapsible units arranged one behind the other, each unit comprising a vertical supporting wall, an upright frame pivoted to the wallabout a vertical axis for swinging movement either against or away fromsaid wall, a seat pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to befolded against said frame when not in use, a collapsible kneeling benchassembly, means for pivotally supporting said assembly on said frame forswinging movement between a collapsed position against the frame and anextended set-up position behind the frame, and means operable by theopening and folding of said seat for automatically swinging the kneelingbench assembly into theset-up and collapsed positions respectively,whereby each unit provides a seating accommodation and also a kneelingaccommodation for a person occupying the seat of the unit directlybehind it.

3. An auxiliary seating installation for churches, comprising a seriesof collapsible units arranged one behind the other, each unit comprisinga vertical supporting wall, an upright frame pivoted to the wall about avertical axis for swinging movement either against or away from saidwall, a seat pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to be foldedagainst said frame when not in use, a collapsible kneeling benchassembly, means for pivotally supporting said assembly on said frame forswinging movement between a collapsed position against the frame and anextended set-up position behind the frame, and means operable by theopening and folding of said seat for automatically swinging the kneelingbench assembly into the set-up and collapsed positions respectively,said lastnamed means comprising a seat brace pivoted at its upper end tothe seat and at its lower end to the kneeling bench assembly, wherebyeach unit provides a seating accommodation and also a kneelingaccommodation for a person occupying the seat of the unit directlybehind it.

4. An auxiliary seating installation for churches, comprising a seriesof collapsible units arranged one behind the other, each unit comprisinga vertical supporting wall, an upright frame pivoted to the wall about avertical axis for swinging movement either against or away from saidwall, a seat pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to be foldedagainst said frame when not in use, a kneeling bench assembly comprisinga bench, legs pivoted thereto, and a link extending between and pivotedto said legs, said bench, legs, and link defining a collapsibleparallelogram, means for pivotally supporting said assembly on saidframe for swinging movement between a collapsed position against theframe and an extended set-up position behind the frame, and meansoperable by the opening and folding of said seat for automaticallyswinging the kneeling bench assembly into the set-up and collapsedpositions respectively, whereby each unit provides a seatingaccommodation and also a kneeling accommodation for a person occupyingthe seat of the unit directly behind it.

5. An auxiliary seating installation for churches, comprising a seriesof collapsible units arranged one behind the other, each unit comprisinga vertical supporting wall, an upright frame pivoted to the wall about avertical axis for swinging movement either against or away from saidwall, a seat pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to be foldedagainst said frame when not in use, a kneeling bench assembly comprisinga bench, legs pivoted thereto, and a link extending between and pivotedto said legs, said bench, legs, and link defining a collapsibleparallelogram, means for pivotally supporting said assembly on saidframe for swinging movement between a collapsed position, against theframe and an extended set-up position behind the frame, and meansoperable by the opening and folding of said seat for automaticallyswinging the kneeling bench assembly into the set-up and collapsedpositions respectively, said last-named means comprising a seat bracepivoted at its upper end to the seat and at its lower end to thekneeling bench assembly, whereby each unit provides a seatingaccommodation and also a kneeling accommodation for a person occupyingthe seat of the unit directly behind it.

6. An auxiliary seating installation for churches, comprising a seriesof collapsible units arranged one behind the other, each unit comprisinga vertical supporting wall, an upright frame pivoted to the wall about avertical axis for swinging movement either against or away from saidwall, a seat pivotally carried by said frame and adapted to be foldedagainst said frame when not in use, a collapsible kneeling benchassembly, and means for pivotally supporting said assembly on said framefor swinging movement between a collapsed position against the frame andan extended set-up position behind the frame, the wall to which saidframe is pivoted being provided with a countersunk recess adapted toaccommodate said frame when the elements carried thereby are incollapsed positions, and means operable by the opening and folding ofsaid seat for automatically swinging the kneeling bench assembly intothe set-up and collapsed positions respectively, whereby each unitprovides a seating accommodation and also a kneeling accommodation for aperson occupying the seat of the unit directly behind it.

JOSEPH J. NOE.

